AT&T has announced that it's taking the concept of rollover minutes or texts and applying it to data starting January 25th. This will only affect Mobile Share Value plans, but it will impact new and current customers alike.

The policy shift likely isn't coming out of the goodness of the carrier's heart (teehee, as if carriers have hearts). Instead, this looks like a calculated response to T-Mobile's recent decision to start rolling unused data over into the next month.

Update: U.S. Cellular will carry the LG G Flex 2 too this spring. No more details at this time.

Hot on the heels of its official announcement at CES, US carriers have started unveiling their plans to offer the LG G Flex 2 on their networks.

The phone, which features Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 processor, a 13MP camera with OIS and laser autofocus, in a 5.5" bendable body with a self-healing back, will be available sometime in Q1 2015 on Sprint.

AT&T U-Verse customers can use the Android companion app to watch live channels on a phone or tablet, turn their handset into a TV remote, and manage DVR. The user interface hasn't looked particularly holo over the last several years, but after the latest updates, it now looks kind of ready for KitKat just in time for everything else to go material. Hey, at least it's something.

If you've used U-Verse on a tablet before, then this interface probably won't look particularly new.

The AT&T crapware on the carrier's LTE-equipped Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 is playing a game of musical chairs today. An OTA update rolling out to the device moves around some icons and basically just does weird stuff, but leaves it on Android 4.4.2.

Raise your hand if you like carrier apps added to your phone. Anyone. Go ahead, don't be shy. Well if you don't, here's a great example of why companies like AT&T should leave the software alone. An over-the-air update to 4.4.4 for the carrier-customized version of the Galaxy Note 3 was sent out on November 28th, then unceremoniously pulled. A previous message on the support page explained why:

Here's something you don't see every day. American carriers AT&T and Verizon both offer the fourth-generation models of the Galaxy Tab 8.0 and 10.1, and this weekend, they're each updating both versions. That indicates some kind of coordinated effort on the part of Samsung's software engineers... or a remarkable coincidence. In any case, owners should start seeing the over-the-air updates come in today, though some will have to wait a few more days.

It isn't often that we issue a Deal Alert for a phone that still costs more than $500 after a discount, but thanks to AT&T's somewhat inflated pricing, this one qualifies. The carrier-branded version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 flagship is being sold on eBay for $659.99 today. That's a bit more than $160 off of AT&T's off-contract price for the phone, and still $50 cheaper than the international version of the Note 4 on Amazon.

Carriers are slowly creeping toward the day when they will no longer need old-fashioned 3G voice calls. AT&T is doing its part by updating another device with VoLTE functionality. The Galaxy S4 Mini should be getting an update right now with VoLTE baked in.

AT&T's Samsung tablet lineup is getting a couple of small updates, but it probably won't be all that interesting unless you've got a very specific need for carrier billing or kid-friendly content. The AT&T branded versions of both the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 and the Galaxy Tab 4 10.1 (good grief, Samsung, your names are a mouthful) are receiving minor updates to their firmware. Neither one boosts the Android software on the tablets (4.4.2), but they do add a few tools.